Drawmer DS201 User manual

DRAWMER
DS201
DUAL NOISE GATE
OPERATOR’S MANUAL
CONTENTS
SAFETY CONSIDERATION page 3
INSTALLATION page 3
INTRODUCTION page 4
CONTROL DESCRIPTIONS page 6
OPERATION page 8
IF A FAULT DEVELOPS page 12
CONTACTING DRAWMER page 12
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION page 13
BLOCK DIAGRAM page 14

COPYRIGHT
This manual is copyrighted © 2008 by Drawmer Electronics, Ltd. With all rights reserved.
Under copyright laws, this manual may not be duplicated in whole or in part without the
written consent of Drawmer.
ONE YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY
Drawmer Electronics Ltd., warrants this product to conform substantially to the
specifications of this manual for a period of one year from the original date of purchase
when used in accordance with the specifications detailed in this manual. In the case of a
valid warranty claim, your sole and exclusive remedy and Drawmer’s entire liability under
any theory of liability will be to, at Drawmer’s discretion, repair or replace the product without
charge, or, if not possible, to refund the purchase price to you. This warranty is not
transferable. It applies only to the original purchaser of the product.
For warranty service please call your local Drawmer dealer. Alternatively call Drawmer
Electronics Ltd. at [phone]. Then ship the defective product, with transportation
and insurance charges pre-paid, to Drawmer Electronics Ltd., Coleman Street, Parkgate,
Rotherham, S62 6EL UK. Write the RA number in large letters in a prominent position on
the shipping box. Enclose your name, address, telephone number, copy of the original sales
invoice and a detailed description of the problem. Drawmer will not accept responsibility for
loss or damage during transit.
This warranty is void if the product has been damaged by misuse, modification or
unauthorised repair.
THIS WARRANTY IS IN LIEU OF ALL WARRANTIES, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN,
EXPRESSED, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY. DRAWMER MAKES NO OTHER WARRANTY
EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY IMPLIED
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR
NON-INFRINGEMENT. PURCHASER’S SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY UNDER THIS
WARRANTY SHALL BE REPAIR OR REPLACEMENT AS SPECIFIED HEREIN.
IN NO EVENT WILL DRAWMER ELECTRONICS LTD. BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT,
INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES RESULTING
FROM ANY DEFECT IN THE PRODUCT, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS, DAMAGE TO
PROPERTY, AND, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, DAMAGE FOR PERSONAL
INJURY, EVEN IF DRAWMER HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGES.
Some states and specific countries do not allow the exclusion of implied warranties or
limitations on how long an implied warranty may last, so the above limitations may not apply
to you. This warranty gives you specific legal rights. You may have additional rights that vary
from state to state, and country to country.
In the interests of product development, Drawmer reserve the right to modify or improve
specifications of this product at any time, without prior notice.
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SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS
CAUTION - MAINS FUSE
TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE REPLACE THE MAINS FUSE ONLY WITH THE
SAME TYPE, WHICH MUST BE A CLASS 3, 230 VOLT, TIME DELAY TYPE,
RATED AT 32mA WHERE THE MAINS INPUT VOLTAGE SWITCH IS SET TO 230
VOLTS AC. AND 63mA WHERE THE MAINS INPUT VOLTAGE IS 115 VOLTS AC.
ALL FUSES MUST COMPLY WITH IEC 127-2.
THE FUSE BODY SIZE IS 20mm x 5mm.
CAUTION - MAINS CABLE
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CHANGE OR TAMPER WITH THE SUPPLIED MAINS
CABLE.
CAUTION - SERVICING
DO NOT PERFORM ANY SERVICING. REFER ALL SERVICING TO
QUALIFIED SERVICE PERSONNEL.
WARNING
TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRIC SHOCK DO NOT EXPOSE THIS
EQUIPMENT TO RAIN OR MOISTURE.
INSTALLATION
This product is designed for standard 19" rack mounting and occupies 1U of rack space.
Use four M6 pan head screws to secure the unit into the rack. Fibre or plastic washers may
be used to prevent the front panel becoming marked by the mounting bolts.
!Care should be taken in the choice of positioning. The unit should not be mounted
where other equipment obstructs the normal air flow. The unit should not be situated
near any heat source, such as a radiator, stove or a high power amplifier that would
generate heat.
!The DS201 should not be operated near any water or in a location where moisture
might be present.
-3-

INTRODUCTION
The Drawmer DS201 is a sophisticated dual channel noise gate, which may be used as two
independent channels or linked for true stereo operation. It incorporates a number of
impressive features, many pioneered by Drawmer, which are invaluable to the sound
engineer and not found on conventional noise gates:
!Variable high-pass and low-pass filters for 'frequency conscious' gating;
!Comprehensive envelope control, attack, hold, decay and range;
!Extremely low-noise and low-distortion circuitry;
!Ultra-fast response time;
!Comprehensive side-chain filtering;
!'Key listen' facility;
!'Traffic light' display giving clear indication of gate status;
!Balanced inputs and outputs.
These features and the DS201's user-friendliness have helped it to become the worldwide
'industry standard' noise gate.
AUDIO CONNECTIONS
All input and output connectors are balanced XLRs, with the wiring convention being: pin 2
hot, pin 3 cold and pin 1 ground. For unbalanced operation, it is important to short pin 3 of
the XLR connector to ground (pin 1) at both input and output.
Key inputs are made via ¼" mono jack connectors. If the Key jack sockets are permanently
wired to a patch bay, it is important that the patch bay sockets are fully normalised to
prevent random unwanted triggering.
If earth loop problems are encountered, never disconnect the mains earth but instead, try
disconnecting the output signal screen at one end of the cables connecting the DS201 to
the patchbay, we suggest inside the XLR connector itself. If such measures are necessary,
balanced operation is recommended.
-4-

POWER CONNECTION
The unit will have been supplied with a power cable suitable for domestic power outlets in
your country. For your own safety it is important that you use this cable. The unit should
always be connected to the mains supply earth using this cable, and no other.
If for some reason the unit is to be used at a mains input operating voltage which is different
to that as supplied, the following procedure must be carried out.
1: Disconnect the unit from the mains.
2: Remove the two self-tapping screws that hold the voltage selection switch
cover-plate onto the rear panel.
3: Remove the cover plate and slide the switch fully to its opposite end.
4: Rotate the cover plate one half turn, (180E) and refit the two screws.
5: Replace with a correctly rated fuse for the selected operation voltage.
6: Re-connect to mains power source.
Never disconnect the earth from the mains supply
-5-

CONTROL DESCRIPTION
L.F. 25Hz - 4kHz
The Low Frequency filter works by severely attenuating frequencies
below the cut-off frequency selected.
H.F. 250Hz - 35kHz,
The High Frequency filter attenuates frequencies above the selected
cut-off value.
In other words, when both filters are set, it is the range between the
two settings that is allowed to pass.
Threshold -50dBFs - infinate
Sets the level at which the gate opens.
Attack 10uS - 1 Second
This control determines how quickly the gate opens. The fastest
Attack time ensures that the gate does not clip the leading edge of
extremely fast transients.
Note: See section on using Attack under 'OPERATION'
Hold 2mS - 2 Second
Determines the amount of time the gate is held open after the signal
falls below the Threshold.
Decay 2mS - 4 Second
Determines the rate at which the gate closes, once the signal has
fallen below the Threshold and the Hold time has expired.
Range 0dB - 90dB
Sets the amount of attenuation applied to the signal when the gate is
closed. This enables the gate to remove unwanted signals entirely, or
simply to attenuate signals which are too loud.
Note: This control is active on both channels, even in stereo linked
operation
Ext/Int In the Int position, this switch causes the gate to respond to the
dynamics of the signal being processed.
In the Ext position, an external audio signal fed to the key input is
used to control the gate, making it possible to gate one sound using
another, independent signal.
Gate/Duck Switches from normal Gating to Ducking, for applications such as
voice-over or the removal of 'clicks' and 'pops'.
Note: See later sections on Ducking under 'OPERATION' and
'APPLICATIONS.'
-6-

Key Listen/
Gate/Bypass When this switch is set to Key Listen, the effect of the key filters on
the programme material is heard at the output. In normal operation,
the Gate position is selected; the filters only affect the way the DS201
responds to the incoming programme material - they do not have any
direct effect on the output signal. The Bypass position routes the
input signal to the output with no processing.
Note: It is possible to leave the switch in the Key Listen position in
order to use the DS201 simply as a filter rather than a gate.
Display The famous Drawmer “traffic light” display shows gate status.
Gate Closed Hold Time Gate Open
Stereo Link This switch links both channels for two tracking channel operation,
with channel one being master. The trigger source selected for
channel one will actuate both channels' envelopes when this mode is
selected.
Note: See section on Linking under 'APPLICATIONS'.
-7-

OPERATION
Use the following diagrams as a guide when operating the DS201.
Gating a Kick Drum
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Gating a Snare Drum
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Triggering a Bass Guitar from a Kick Drum
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Ducking Music from Vox
-11-

IF A FAULT DEVELOPS
For warranty service please call Drawmer Electronics Ltd. Or their nearest authorised
service facility, giving full details of the difficulty. On receipt of this information, service or
shipping instructions will be forwarded to you. No equipment should be returned under the
warranty without prior consent from Drawmer or their authorised representative.
For service claims under the warranty agreement a service Returns Authorisation (RA)
number will be given. Write this RA number in large letters in a prominent position on the
shipping box. Enclose your name, address, telephone number, copy of the original sales
invoice and a detailed description of the problem.
Authorised returns should be prepaid and must be insured. All Drawmer products are
packaged in specially designed containers for protection. If the unit is to be returned, the
original container must be used. If this container is not available, then the equipment should
be packaged in substantial shock-proof material, capable of withstanding the handling for
the transit.
CONTACTING DRAWMER
Drawmer Electronics Ltd., will be pleased to answer all application questions to enhance
your usage of this equipment. Please address correspondence to:
Drawmer (Technical Help line) : Coleman St.: Parkgate : Rotherham : S62 6EL : UK
or, E-mail us on : [email protected]
Drawmer dealers, Authorised service departments and other contact information can be
obtained from our web pages on http://www.drawmer.com
-12-

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
INPUT IMPEDANCE 20KÙ
MAXIMUM INPUT LEVEL +17dB
OUTPUT IMPEDANCE 50Ù(bal) 100Ù(unbal)
MAXIMUM OUTPUT LEVEL +17dB
BANDWIDTH 23Hz to 31KHz -1dB
NOISE AT UNITY GAIN ref 0dB, GATE open
Wideband 22Hz - 22KHz CCIR ARM IEC A Q-Pk CCIR
AV -90dB -95dB -95dB -97dB -84dB
RMS -88dB -93dB -93dB -95dB
DISTORTION
100Hz 1KHz 10KHz
0dB input < 0.025% < 0.025% <0.025%
POWER REQUIREMENTS 93-125Volt or 185-250Volt at 50-60Hz, 9 Watts
FUSE RATING 32mA for 230Volt, 63mA for 115Volt
FUSE TYPE 20mm x 5mm, Class 3 Time delay, 250 Volt working.
CONFORMING TO IEC127-2
CASE SIZE 482mm (w) x 44mm (h) x 200mm (d)
WEIGHT (incl packaging) 3.4 Kgs
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BLOCK DIAGRAM
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